|
|
|
JustGive Couple Featured on National Public Radio®
Making Philanthropy Part of the Nuptials
3 February 2006
Copyright ©2004 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No
quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media
without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript may not be
reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission. For
further information, please contact NPR's Permissions Coordinator at
(202) 513-2030.
NPR: Morning Edition
Linda Wertheimer, host:
Some couples are betting on I do. The average American wedding costs
more than $25,000 dollars. Lavish spending sustains a multi-billion
dollar industry. Some couples are surprising their guests by
incorporating philanthropy into their nuptials.
Shia Levitt reports.
Shia Levitt reporting:
On a rainy Friday morning in Oakland, California, newlyweds Paige and
Greg Flurry(ph), just finished giving their son, Shawn Joaquin(ph), his
breakfast. Paige and Shawn are sitting on the kitchen floor, and she's
reading him a quick book before she leaves for work.
(Soundbite of mother reading with a child)
Levitt: When Paige and Greg began planning their wedding, they figured
registering for gifts online would be a part of the deal. But then
something started to not feel right to them.
Mr. Greg Flurry (Oakland, California): We started looking at those
things, and, high thread count sheets, okay, we already have sheets but
we want higher thread count sheets? And we've got cupboards full of
glassware, but we need more? But then it, I guess one day it was just
kind of a revelation. We looked at each other and said, Why are we
getting gifts? This is ridiculous.
Levitt: So they chose a different route and joined thousands of other
couples in deciding to direct gift money to a charity. Most of the
guests liked the idea.
Mrs. Paige Flurry: Everybody had a very positive response to it, and,
some people who had recently gotten married said, Oh great, thanks for
making us look bad.
Levitt: Greg and Paige and in their 40's, and they already lived
together before getting married; typical, says Kara Corridan, of the
kinds of couples more likely to go for the latest nuptial trend.
Corridan is the executive editor of Modern Bride Magazine.
Ms. Kara Corridan (Executive Editor, Modern Bride Magazine): They have
the traditional things that you might register for, so they may not use
their wedding as an opportunity to get all the stuff that you would
normally ask for, because they already have it.
Levitt: But the trend is also happening among young couples, and
Corridan says the number of philanthropic weddings across the country
has been on the rise for the last five years.
Ms. Corridan: It really became popular in 2001, and, you know, the
aftermath of September 11th certainly had an effect on that, making
people really evaluate what was important to them.
Levitt: Bethany Robertson is the Executive Director of the I Do
Foundation, an organization that helps couples plan charitable giving as
part of their weddings. She says about ten percent of couples between
May 2005 and May 2006 will incorporate some sort of philanthropy.
Ms. Bthany Robertson (Executive Director of the I Do Foundation): It
may be a few dollars per couple, but when you have two million couples
getting married a year, it has a significant impact.
Levitt: The bulk of the I Do Foundation's couples participate through
programs where they register for normal wedding gifts, and the stores
agree to donate a small percentage of the money spent to the charity of
the couples' choice. These charitable gift registries usually net about
$30 dollars per wedding, compared with the closer to $500 dollars raised
by couples who asked guests for donations instead of gifts.
Levitt: Back at the Flurry household, Paige and Greg are playing with a
giggling Shawn Joaquin.
(Soundbite of family playing)
Levitt: Like many other couples planning philanthropic weddings, Paige
and Greg picked a charity with personal importance to their lives. They
adopted Shawn Joaquin from Guatemala two years ago, and now are
preparing to adopt another Guatemalan child. They selected a charity
that supports children and families in the country where their own
children were born.
Mr. Flurry: I don't know what prompted it, but maybe it was, you know,
after playing with Shawn Joaquin and kind of looking around our house
and saying, "Wait a minute, there's something that's much more important
than, you know, getting wedding gifts."
Levitt: The I Do Foundation is looking next to the idea of charitable
baby shower registries, and the Flurry's say they're definitely
interested.
For NPR News, I'm Shia Levitt, in San Francisco.
|
|
